1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device that can be used in endoscopy, and more particularly, to an endoscopic device or endoscopic support intended to permit precise in situ positioning of an endoscope and of associated surgical instruments. However, the present device may also be adapted to viewing systems other than an endoscope, which are familiar to a person skilled in the art.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Therapeutic endoscopy has developed considerably over the past twenty years. Performed either via the oral or anal route, therapeutic endoscopy makes it possible, by means of an instrument called an “endoscope”, to gain direct access to the interior of the digestive tract without the need to open the abdominal wall or create a passage through the peritoneal cavity, thus enhancing patient comfort and reducing patient morbidity.
More specifically, an endoscope is conventionally in the form of a flexible tube comprising an optics channel and one or more operating channels allowing one or more surgical instruments to be introduced with a view to perform a surgical procedure in situ, that is to say in the area of the target (cavity) that is to be treated in the body of the patient.
However, such an arrangement of the operating channels parallel to the endoscope considerably limits the spatial movements of the surgical instruments relative to one another and relative to the endoscope, and an effective solution to this problem would be desirable.
The document U.S. Pat. No. 6,352,503 B1 has proposed a surgical endoscopic apparatus comprising an endoscope provided with an insertion zone inside which a observation device is inserted, and at least two insertion arms in which a surgical instrument is inserted, said apparatus having the particular feature of additionally comprising a positioning device for varying one or other of the distances between the insertion zone of the endoscope, the first insertion arm and the second insertion arm in a direction substantially orthogonal to the axis of the insertion zone of the endoscope. In this embodiment, the positioning device is in the form of an inflatable balloon or also in the form of an extensible “basket”.
However, in this solution, the spatial movements of the surgical instruments are still quite restricted.
The document U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,776 B1 describes a device that can be coupled to an endoscope and is in the form of a flexible sheath that can be engaged on the endoscope. This sheath has a length which is such that it envelops the endoscope along essentially its entire length. The device is provided with lumens which extend along the walls of the sheath and at the distal end of which surgical instruments can be fixed. The device is connected to the endoscope prior to insertion of the device into the patient's body. Once the device connected to the endoscope has reached its target site in situ, under the action of control means, the distal end of the lumens is capable of undergoing a deflection, the extent of which is regulated, thereby permitting a positioning and orientation of the surgical instruments relative to the site that is to be treated.